Alive 'n Kickin'
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1968) - Pepe Cardona (RIP 2020) -- lead vocals - Robb Lapp (RIP 2020) -- drums, percussion - Jeff Miller --
keyboards
line up 2 (1968-70) NEW
- Vito Albano --
drums, percussion (replaced Rob Lapp) (replaced Jeff
Miller)
line up 3 (1970-71)
- Pepe Cardona (RIP 2020) -- lead vocals NEW
- Ronnie Pell -- drums, percussion (replaced Vita Albano)
line up 4 (1976) NEW - Vito Albano -- drums, percussion - Pepe Cardona (RIP 2020) -- lead vocals -
Richie Incorvaia (RIP) -- bass (replaced NEW
- David Shearer -- rhythm guitar
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- Bloody Mary (Vito Albano, Richie Incorvaia and John Parisio,) - Brooklyn Dreams (Bruce Sudano) - Joe Bruce and 2nd Avenue (Bruce Sudano) - Kickin' - Bruce Sudano (solo efforts) - The Yo-Yos (Pepe Cardona)
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Genre: pop Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Alive 'n Kickin' Company: Roulette Catalog: SR 42052 Year: 1969 Country/State: USA Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: cut out niche, still in shrink wrap Available: 2 Catalog ID: 5450 Price: $30.00 Cost: $1.00
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Led by singer Pepe Cardona, Alive 'n Kickin' was a New York
City based sextet
showcasing the talents of drummer Vito Albano, vocalist Sandy Todler,
guitarist John Parisio, keyboardist Bruce Sudano and bassist Thomas
Wilson. Formed in 1968 while the members were still in their teens,
the group started their careers playing the city's club
circuit. Their big break came in 1969 when Tommy James and the Shondells caught
the group performing at a small Brooklyn Club. Impressed by the band
James offered them an opportunity to record a tune he'd written, but been
unable to record himself due to a severe case of
stage fright. Ironically, before Alive 'n Kickin' could record
"Crystal Blue Persuasion" James withdrew the offer
so that James and the
Shondells could record and release the song themselves. Redeeming himself, James
offered the band a replacement track entitled "Tighter and
Tighter".
- 1970's "Tighter and Tighter" b/w "Sunday Morning" (Roulette catalog number R-7078)
With the 45
proving a top-10 US hit, as was standard
marketing, Roulette rushed the band into the studio to
record a supporting album. Produced by James and Bob King, "Alive 'n Kickin'"
proved a minor surprise. Anyone hearing "Tighter and Tighter" (let
along looking at the fun-
1.) Tighter, Tighter (Tommy James - Bob King) - 2:43 rating: ***** stars If
I was going to compile a list of songs that bled that '70s pop vibe,
"Tighter, Tighter" would easily make the list. It's also a sterling
example of what a great songwriter James was. This is just a pure
piece of ear candy - virtually impossible to shake once you've heard it.
The
lyrics were forgettable, but powered by Cardona
and Todler's rugged voices, "Junction
Creek" exhibited some interesting time changes and was surprisingly tight
and funky.
Opening
up with some nice John Parisio
lead guitar, "Jordan" again showcased Cardona and Todler on lead
vocals, 'Jordan' added a Gospel-flavor to the mix. Parisio returned
mid-song with an even nicer solo. Very nice. The song also
appeared as the "B" side on their final "Good Ole Lovin' Back
Home" 45. Opening
with a killer guitar riff, "Kentucky Fire" underscored these guys were more
than a pop-40 band. With Todler breaking out her Joplin edge, for some
reason this one's always reminded me of a New York City version of The
Shocking Blue. Clocking
in at under a moment, "Sunday Morning" was more of a song fragment than
anything. With an Up-with-People religious vibe, it was bright and
tuneful, just not long enough to make much of an impact. The song was
also tapped as the "B" side on their "Tighter and
Tighter" single (side 1) 1.) Just Let It Come (A. Martin) - 3:09 rating: **** stars Opening up with some nice Parisio fuzz guitar, the rocker "Just Let It Come" was a nice example of how good Cardona and Todler sounded together. Good choice for the album's follow-up single.
- 1970 "Just Let It Come" b/w "Mother Carey's Chicken" (Roulette catalog number R-7087) 2.) Mississippi Mud (Bruce Sudano - Thomas Wilson) - 5:42 rating: *** stars The
ship horn opening always makes me smile, as did Parisio
little guitar riff and the segment where they spelled out Mississippi.
Let me warn you that Todler sounded a little ragged on this one. A
very different sound for the band, again reminded me of The Tee Set,
Shocking Blue, or one of the Dutch pop
bands that were popular at the start of the '70s. The
second group composition, "Hitter Man" was another stab at mixing harder
rock and commercial moves. Complete with some weird time changes,
curiously, this time around the sound came off as stiff; reminding me of
something that might have been written for a Broadway play. I'm
guess "Mother Carey's Chicken" was how a bunch of young New York City folks
thought a funny country song should sound. All I can say is the
results were neither funny, nor enjoyable. Sad way to end the
album. The song served as the "B" side on their "Just Let It
Come" single.
- 1971's "London Bridge" b/w "You Gave Me Something" (Roulette catalog number R-7094) - 1971's "Good Ole Lovin' Back Home" b/w '"Jordan" (Roulette catalog number R-7113)
Sudano reappeared as a member of Brooklyn Dreams and achieved a little bit of media attention when he married Donna Summer.
In 1980 they released a private label sophomore album that I've never seen or heard. "Going Strong" was issued on the Skyline label (catalog number SK 1000)
With singer Pepe Cardona and guitarist John Parisio as the lone original members the band was still active playing weddings, graduations, and parties in the New York area through mid-2020.
In July 2020 the 72 year old Cardona died of pancreatic cancer.
Todler has a small FaceBook presence at: (20+) Sandy Toder | Facebook
There is also an Alive 'n Kickin' Facebook site, though it doesn't seem to have been updated in the wake of Cardona's death: (20+) Alive N Kickin | Facebook
© Scott R. Blackerby October 2023
Alive 'N Kickin' is an American pop group formed in Brooklyn, New York. Led by singers Pepe Cardona and Sandy Toder, they are best known for their 1970 hit "Tighter, Tighter", which peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.[1] The group's initial run lasted from 1968 to 1971, during which they didn't achieve success outside of "Tighter, Tighter", making them a one-hit wonder. In 1976, most of the original lineup reformed, and they've continued to perform to the present day, with various member changes. They have released one studio album, 1970's Alive 'N Kickin'. History Formation: 1968 This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The six original members formed the band when they were teenagers in 1968, in guitarist Dave Shearer's basement. The group also included Sandy Toder and Pepe Cardona on vocals, Bruce Sudano and Jeff Miller on keyboards, and Woody Wilson on bass. They gained some popularity when they began recording for Tommy James on the label he was signed to, Roulette Records. "Tighter, Tighter": 1970 In early 1970, the band began recording sessions for their upcoming, self-titled studio album, which came out in January. They were to record a song written and produced by Tommy James and Bob King and arranged by Jimmy Wisner, "Crystal Blue Persuasion", but James liked it so much he decided to keep it for himself. As a gesture of friendship, he wrote "Tighter, Tighter" for Alive and Kickin'. After recording the track, the group replaced Vito Albano (drums, percussion) and Shearer with Ronny Pell and Johnny Parisio. With the new lineup, "Tighter, Tighter" was released.[2] The song came out in May 1970 and stayed on the US chart for 16 weeks.[2] It sold over one million copies and received a Gold disc, awarded by the R.I.A.A.[2] Two singles were almost immediately released to ride on the good fortune of the hit song, but after a lack of success with "Just Let It Come" and "London Bridge", and after increasing difficulties with their producer Morris Levy and the label's insistence on trying to make more singles so quickly, the band quietly broke up by early 1972.[3] Reunion: 1976 Most of the group reunited in 1976, with a lineup that included Cardona, Wilson (this time on lead guitar), Shearer, Albano, and new bassist Richie Incorvaia. They played from the mid-1970s until the late 1980s. Since then, the band's lineup changed numerous times, though Cardona and Parisio remained a constant presence. Wilson, Albano, and Shearer left, and Incorvaia died.[4] Later years Pepe Cardona was diagnosed with stage-3 pancreatic cancer in August 2019. The tumor was removed in April 2020, but it had spread to his stomach. He died on July 28, 2020, aged 72.[5][6] In 1970, their song "Tighter and Tighter" climbed the Billboard chart. They toured with some of the biggest names in Rock, including Chicago, Frank Zappa, Seals and Crofts, Mott The Hoople and Rare Earth. They appeared on national television shows such as Dick Clark's American Bandstand and The Mike Douglas Show. They played major venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Baltimore Civic Center and Steel Pier in Atlantic City. Pepe Cardona, the original founder of Alive And Kicking talked with us about his band. Q - Pepe, you bill Alive And Kicking as one of the premier nightclub and wedding bands in the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut). Given your background, how can you be happy playing a nightclub or even a wedding for that matter? A - Why not? (laughs) This is what I do for a living. After we recorded the hit single, we released a couple of songs after that. We released "Just Let It Come". That only sold about 250,000. "Tighter and Tighter" sold about a million at the time. Then we did a re-make of a David Gates song called "London Bridge" and that didn't go anywhere. Consequently, we were all very unhappy and we broke up. That was the end of '71, beginning of '72. For four years I just like fiddled around. I took dance lessons, vocal lessons. I tried to be better. I formed a band again in '76. This time I decided I was going to make a living out of this. For years I had little odd jobs here and there. I was working in a bank. I was working on Wall Street, and all the time I'm thinking what am I doing? I have this great talent I should be using. So, in '76 I decided to go back into the business. I'm gonna form Alive And Kicking again and see what my hit record under my belt can do for me. Can I make a living out of this without ever having to take a 9 to 5 job again? And that's what I did. So, we played clubs for about fifteen years. We made a great living out of playing clubs. We became a top notch, number one club band in New York. It was totally awesome. That led to the advent of the DJ era. As soon as the 90s came, the clubs weren't paying that much anymore. So, at that point I said alright, it's time for another change. Had to go into the wedding circuit. That's what I did. I changed my whole repertoire. I learned all the wedding shtik and continued because I wasn't going to lose this band that I had nurtured and kept going all these years. We became a wedding band. I started doing corporate parties. I continued to do the clubs because I have a nice fan base out there that still enjoy watching Alive And Kicking. So, I kept doing the clubs and I do a club here and there. I do a club in just about every borough, like once a month. Q - Have you played any celebrity weddings? A - No. I do roughly about 80 to 85 weddings a year. We charge about six grand a wedding and it's really doing good. We gotta learn all the wedding songs. We do at least one or two bridal showcases every month, where brides come and check out your band for their affair. That's why I don't mind doing this. (laughs) It's a living. It's how I make a living. Everybody still remembers the song. I have a Gold record on my wall. Q - Would you play "Tighter and Tighter" at a wedding? A - Oh, yes. Q - And someone might say that sounds like the record and you say, we did the record. A - We make a big deal out of "Tighter and Tighter". Right off the bat, when we book, they know we had a hit song. We have a DVD out and on the DVD it has our number one hit single "Tighter and Tighter" from the 70s. So, they know that we have it. At the wedding, we invite the bride and groom to come up with us and that particular song, "Tighter and Tighter", they can join the band. We give them a tambourine. And the video photographers and all the people gather around. It's like a big part of the wedding. We introduce ourselves. "By the way, we had a hit song. We're gonna bring the bride and groom up." And everybody goes "oh yeah." We do a verse and a chorus. We say "OK, who remembers?" You got the hands coming up. Q - Are you the only original member in Alive And Kicking? A - No. There's the guitar player that was on the record. He's the only original member left. Everybody dropped out. When we broke up in '72, our keyboard player Bruce Sudano went out to California. He was a writer. He met Donna Summer. He married Donna Summer. He still tours with her. He kind of semi-manages her. Sings background on her tours. They live in Nashville. Still a very close friend of mine. They've had three girls. They came out of our family tree there. Q - What he should do is put Alive And Kicking on the same bill as Donna Summer. A - When I started putting Alive And Kicking back together in New York, he started a band called Brooklyn Dreams in California, with a couple of guys I grew up with here in Brooklyn. They started opening up for Donna Summer. They wrote a couple of her hits. They wrote "Bad Girls" and "Hot Stuff". And they're on that album that she recorded in the late 70s with those songs on it. Q - Who wrote "Tighter and Tighter"? A - Well, Tommy James wrote that for me. It's a great story. When I first started the band with Bruce, we decided we were gonna do a duet. So, we found this girl named Sandra Toder. Her sister was actually very good friends with Tommy James' wife. So, through that connection we got Tommy James to come down and see us at this little, tiny club. At the time, in 1969, there were all these little Hullabaloo clubs that were sprouting up throughout the country and there was one in Brooklyn. We got Tommy to come down and see us there. He liked us and we formed a little relationship. My bass player Woody Wilson and Bruce Sudano both got together with Tommy and helped him write one of his hits, a song called "Ball Of Fire". That was a Top 20 hit for him. In any case, he said I'm gonna write a song for you guys. So, one day he comes down with this song called "Crystal Blue Persuasion". We went down to my guitar player's basement, the one that's still with me, in Brooklyn. He worked out the whole song. We did harmonies to it. We were ready to record it. Then he comes down and tells us, "Guys, I'm really sorry but I decided to record that song myself. I'm gonna put it on my album. But I'll write you another song." So, six months later he comes down with "Tighter and Tighter". We go into the studio and record it and it became a big hit for us. It was an amazing thing. (laughs) Q - These Hullabaloo clubs, would they have been like the TV show where you'd see girls dancing in cages? A - Yeah, that kind of thing. They were like an off shoot of the TV show. Q - This is the first time I've ever heard about clubs like this. I never knew they existed. A - Yeah. There was one we played in Massachusetts. I think it was in Springfield and there was one in Brooklyn. There were a couple more around the country. They didn't last long. That particular club acted as a springboard actually to our meeting Tommy James. Q - After "Tighter and Tighter" became a hit, where did the group perform? A - We did a tour where we went around the country. We went to the West coast. We did American Bandstand. That was pretty cool. While we were there we performed at the Whisky-A-Go-Go. Then we did a TV show in Houston and a couple of clubs there...went to Florida. I remember going into Florida and the song was number one. That was pretty cool. Did a big outdoor concert in Texas. Did an outdoor concert in Miami. Went up the East coast, North Carolina, all these little clubs that were accepting 'hit' bands. We even did a show in Cleveland. It was called Upbeat. We went to Montreal and did a TV show up there. It was a great little tour. Q - Didn't you open for Frank Zappa? A - Yes. During this tour, we did a lot of colleges also. This was a the College of California in Pennsylvania. There's actually a little town in Pennsylvania called California. We opened up for Frank Zappa and at the time he had Flo and Eddie from The Turtles. Those two were backing him up on vocals. It was actually Frank Zappa and War. Eric Burdon and War. We actually opened for them at the Felt Forum. At the time it was a theatre in Madison Square Garden. We also did the Baltimore Civic Center where we opened up for Chicago. Now, did this bill: it was Chicago, Alive N Kickin and third billing was Seals and Crofts. Would you believe that? That was before Seals and Crofts really made it big. Q - What was it like being on the Mike Douglas Show? A - It was kind of bittersweet. It was national TV. Dick Clark was very personable. He came to the dressing room and he met us and introduced himself and "Hey, I love your song. Thanks for coming on the show." On the other hand, Mike Douglas was totally not into us at all. I don't know if he didn't like our look. We were kind of hippie looking. We were dressed like the early 70s bands, dressed with fringe vests and long hair. And, he announced us on national TV as Alive N Cookin'. Q - Well, you were cookin' when you performed. A - Yeah, I know. Q - Imagine what Ed Sullivan would've done with your name. A - (laughs) But, it was a great experience doing Mike Douglas. Q - How was the money back then for personal appearances? A - The money was OK. The only problem was we should've gotten a hell of a lot more money. Unfortunately we were on a label called Roulette Records. They were run by this guy named Morris Levy. Q - He was "connected" as they say. A - Yeah. notoriously connected to the Mafia. He ran the ship like the Mafia would. (laughs) Didn't give us the money we were supposed to get. He didn't do that with any of his artists. All of his artists suffered because he kept all of the royalties himself and just doled out little miniscule amounts. He gave us money to buy a P.A. system. A little bit here and there for spending money. He laid out the advance money to record and gave us a miniscule amount to record our album. So, consequently our album wasn't the best selling album that we could have come up with, because we had a very limited budget. When it came time to do a follow-up to "Tighter and Tighter", we wanted to do something really good and he chose this song called "Just Let It Come". We weren't crazy about this song, but he insisted on it. He said "This is the song you're going to go in to do." Consequently, it bombed. And then after that we had our choice of picking a song and we picked a song called "London Bridge" that David Gates had on his first album. Unfortunately, Roulette wasn't behind it at the time. Morris Levy wasn't happy about our choice of songs. He wanted to make the choice again. Consequently, he didn't push the song. He didn't do anything. The song never went anywhere. With "Tighter and Tighter" he had every DJ in the country vying for who would break the record Top Ten first. Whoever did, that DJ won a trip to Spain. We had a lot of push with "Tighter and Tighter". The song is a great song. Q - Do you have any new product out as we speak? A - No. You know what? I've tried to do that over the years. It was very hard. Record companies do not want to hear anything about what happened in the 70s. You know how hard it is for even Paul McCartney to sell right now. The Rolling Stones can go on tour and make millions and millions of dollars. But if they put out any product, it's not going to be played on the radio. Paul McCartney just put out an album on the Starbucks label. Tommy's new CD that he put out last Summer was being sold at Wal-mart. Q - You wouldn't entertain the idea of putting out your own CD? A - No. To tell you the truth, it really takes a lot of time and effort to keep Alive And Kicking going. A lot of marketing...tele-marketing to do. We constantly book Alive And Kicking year round with weddings and corporate parties. We do a lot of nice outdoor concerts during the Summer. I have to keep making these calls constantly and sending our e-mails. It's a lot of work. Q - Did Morris Levy ever catch you in concert? A - Hmmm...let's see...he must've in the beginning, I imagine. But then after that, he hardly ever came. He just wanted into the artist representation side of it. He just sat behind a desk and doled out orders. (laughs) And that's the way it was. Q - I don't think a guy could do that today. A - Things changed radically after that era. After that, all the artist got what they should've gotten and what they deserved. Things started changing. Unfortunately, we were at the latter end of that era where the artist didn't get anything. Q - Well, you did get a hit record. That's something. A - I got one hit record. I have parlayed it into a wonderful career. I love my career. I make good money. I make a good living. And, I'm still doing it! I'm still singing! I get great satisfaction. People love the band. The band is top notch. A surprisingly decent mix of soul flavored pop, and semi-commercial hard rock with fuzz guitar making an appearance on most of the tracks. And most all of the tracks feature soulful female vocals in either lead or backing position. Don't judge this book by it's cover. Their surf-side frolicking was doubtlessly the idea of the label or at least the photog they hired for the cover image. Worthy of investigation, and not by pop aficionados, as little of this would qualify as such. There are some horns, but surprisingly, they don't make a negative impact. The album version of "Country Morning" is a severely edited version of the one found on the B-side to their hit "Tighter, Tighter", which is not a cover - they did the original. Few realize that such an unknown band was actually responsible for such a big hit. Side 2 pretty much rips all the way through, and if it doesn't make much of an impact, then this clearly ain't what your looking for. It's an unheralded gem! More ? Not published [Rating25801404] geldofpunk Apr 23 20182.50 stars These guys were best known for their top 10 hit, "Tighter, Tighter". Man, I've never even heard of these guys but I have heard that song MANY times. I even thought this was a cover version so there ya go. Everyone gets their 15 minutes I guess. Anyway, this is mostly soul driven pop rock with some psych rock leanings and lead vocals that are traded off by male and female singers. I can't honestly call this a bad album but I don't like it. (Another appearance of the dreaded SOCK IT TO ME. Ugh.) Published [Rating98394366] recorddigger Oct 15 20163.50 stars Emotive Blues Rockers with great female singer The song 'Kentucky Fire' is killer! Published [Rating81755179] Purple_Daze Aug 12 20122.50 stars The genre tags that RYM have listed for this album don't really match what in the grooves. As one of the other reviewers stated this is soul influenced, bluesy rock with some boogie influences. That word "boogie" is enough to keep me away from most albums, bought this for the "Tighter Tighter" cover and because I read descriptions calling it psych. It's not bad but it's not really psychedelic either. The cover of "Tighter" is by far the poppiest thing here. The rest has a female singer who does a pretty good job of sounding Joplinesque. Lukewarm album overall
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in-the-sun album cover), would have justifiably
concluded these guys were little more than a faceless top-40 pop band.
Wrong
conclusion. As one of the lead vocalists Todler's bluesy delivery
occasionally bore a resemblance to Janis Joplin. Check out her
performances on "Just Let It Come" or "Kentucky
Fire". In terms of material, the album featured largely original
compositions which rocked with
a quite a bit of energy. While it may not have made for the year's most original
set, songs such as "Junction Creek" and "Mississippi
Mud" saw the group displaying a penchant for above average blues-rock with
some interesting time changes thrown in for good measure.
That wasn't meant to imply these guys were going to knock Deep Purple off
the hard rock throne. With Sudano and Wilson penning most of the tunes,
about half of the track listing retained a distinctive commercial sheen.
The set was far from perfect. Nothing came close to "Tighter,
Tighter"
and when the band went off the rails, the results were pretty bad - check
out the country-tinged closer "Mother Carey's
Chicken"
or "Hitter Man". Still, the fact they
were allowed to record so many original tracks spoke highly of Roulette's
faith in the band. 
